San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-09-08
Capitol and Custom.

EpIToR FREE PREss:-The present
years transaction OF the Alliance in
the contract system of trade has
developed some interesting and i'm
portant facts in small way upon the
relation of capital to custom, the two
great factors that compose the mer-
camille trade and exchange OF the
country. Custom has awakened
from its long slumber, and come forth
with the dignity that justly belongs
to it, and for the first time arrested
its authority and claimed recognition
at the hands of capital as being one
of the great factors in the mercantile
and exchange system of the country.
For the first time it has revolted
against the demands of capital, and
asked to be met on halfway ground {;
for the first time it has organized its
scattered party into one great whole
and made united effort to throw
check around greedy capital in its
hasty speed to its kingly state of
landlordism and aristocracy. Capital
has been liars; it has exercised gu
preme power in regulating the price
of produce and merchandise it has
sat as an arbitrary ruler and dictated
prices; added usury and limited ac-
counts, according to the customary
liability 10 pay in short, it has de-
manded whatsoever it willed, and
custom has submissively obeyed and
responded as though it had no choice
in the matter, no rights to respect,
no power to resist, and as though it
played no part as one of the great
factors in the transaction. And this
is still the condition of affairs in most
things; but it is to be hoped that it
will not always remain 80. Custom
has organized it's fragments and scat
tered parts, and not as slave to be
counseled and then dictated to. Cap
ital, on the other hand, has acted pru
dent and just, and yielded in some
things to it's demands. 1t has
said to custom, if you will concen-
trate your scattered forces and fur
nish us patronage at your own OK
pense, and save us the trouble Of run
ming around to hunt you up and Sc
cure us against your dishonest mem.
bers, and give us steady employment
for our clerks, and can secure our
merchandise SO it will not lay upon
the shelf and become moth-eaten and
weather-worn, we will take you in
as partner, cooperate with you,
counsel with you, and recognize you
as a party of the first part in the con-
tract. These are grand develop
ments. 1t is o step forward in the
great march of progress to higher
state of right and justice; it is des-
tined to revolutionlze and reform the
presentsystem of trade and exchange.
Of course it will go hard with capt.
tai, and it will be 10th to submit to
the new system. It will revolt
against it because it is something
foreign to it's nature to concede any
rights or power to custom as coun-
sellor or o partner But capital
without custom is clamp, and its
activity and utility stops when Gus
tom stops, aud for this reason it is
very jealous, and custom knows it,
Custom is beautiful girl in the eyes
of capital, and she has many gay
beaus. She is courted, smiled at and
winked at from every corner, and oil
custom has got to do to win hel
heart and hand is to be firm in its
determination and just manly and
dignifed in it's demands, and prompt
in squaring up last years accounts.
,l--Selected by J. S. Hawk.